


The Wild Swans

by Made_Of_Love



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: F/M, Love, Magic, The Wild Swans, Witch - Freeform, fairytale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-12
Updated: 2016-01-12
Packaged: 2018-05-13 10:33:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5704444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Made_Of_Love/pseuds/Made_Of_Love
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You're a young princess with a witch for a step mother and now 12 swan brothers. Now go fall in love, break the spell, and try not to get burned at the stake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Wild Swans

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Wild Swans](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/168688) by Hans Christian Andersen. 



> I hope you all like fairytales. This is a work written by Hans Christian Andersen, a Danish author known for his fairytales. I just extended it and Hetalia-fied it. Please enjoy.

Your father was a very affectionate man. He was full of love and kindness. He had even married three times, showing each bride a love and kindness no woman had ever known before. His only major flaw might have been that he was not always a good judge of character and that showed now in your eyes as you eyed his newest bride – soon to be your new stepmother – as she walked down the aisle. She had long raven locks and a slender waist and eyes so green they could make the jade stones your brothers had once brought from the east pale in comparison. You stood there in a pale __f/c__ ball gown with a small bouquet in your hand. You hated this woman. No matter how much kindness she showed you, you couldn’t shake the awful feeling she brought around. Your brothers said you were being silly, but you just couldn’t brush the feeling off.  
  
You had nine wonderful older brothers and two younger one. They were (in order from oldest to youngest): Allistor, Gilbert, Francis, Antonio, Dylan, Seamus, Arthur, Toris, Eduard, Raivis, and Peter. The eldest nine were usually off traveling the world and returning with gifts and wonders of all sorts. You, yourself, eagerly awaited the day you would be able to travel as well.  
  
“Could you try to smile like you’re not in pain, ________,” Allistor whispered from beside you. You heard a few of your brothers snickered.  
  
“I’m sorry,” you muttered back, “I’m trying. I really am.”  
  
“Just think of how happy our father will be,” Arthur murmured. You took a deep breath and nodded. But as you watched the happy couple kiss once the priest made their marriage official you only felt a cold chill run down your spine.  
  
~  
  
“No more traveling. If you feel the need to study you will do so here,” your new stepmother ordered. You could feel everyone’s hearts drop. Travel was all they did now and all you ever wanted to do. She couldn’t do this! You felt anger bubble up in your chest.  
  
“You can’t say that!” you snapped. The stepmother turned her icy eyes onto you before marching up to you. With every step she took across the marble floors towards you, you felt your anger and sudden burst of bravery melt away and give way to fear and intimidation. She roughly grabbed your chin and forced you to look at her. Her grip was harsh and began to make your chin ache. Your brothers stiffened, their protectiveness of their sister coming into play. But they made no move to hurt you. They couldn’t do anything until she actually made a move to do any real harm. So they just glared silently.  
  
“ _What_ did you say to me?” she hissed. Your heart was pounding in your chest.  
  
“You can’t say that,” you squeaked, “Th-they…”  
  
“They _nothing_. You will listen to your new mother,” she hissed before letting go, “I want all of you out of my sight! Her insolence has upset me,” she said as she left the room.  
  
“You’re not my mother,” you muttered after she had gone. Allistor swore.  
  
“Maybe you were right about her,” Peter muttered as he came up and took your hand. You looked down at him. He looked back up with bright eyes full of worry. You managed a smile.  
  
“Don’t worry about it, Peter,” you reassured as you stooped down to look him in the eye. “How about you go into the garden and I’ll get mom’s old fairytale book and I’ll read you whatever you want.”  
  
“The Steadfast Tin Soldier?”  
  
“Of course,” you said as you ruffled his hair a bit.  
  
Meanwhile, the stepmother went to an old door that all the other residents of the castle believed didn’t lead to anything. As far as anyone knew, it was just part of the castle no one used because it was incidentally sealed off in construction. Or, at least, it had been. She climbed the steps of the twisting, narrow hallway before reaching a small door that was hidden by magic. She walked through the door and was greeted by her familiar, a black crow with red eyes named Sabbath.  
  
 _Caw! Have you planted your seeds of doubt into the king yet?_  
  
“Not yet. The girl is giving me trouble. She’s got too much spirit. And it’ll be even worse if she’s too good or pure.”  
  
 _Then she’ll be harder to hex. Assuming she can be. You may be up a creek. The crow cackled._  
  
“Shut up! She won’t be trouble.” She walked to the window and peered out to see you putting away the fairytale book before chasing your brother around the garden. You looked up briefly then did a double take. You were looking right at the stepmother. Except you couldn’t have been. The window had been hexed to be concealed to those on the outside. But as the stepmother stared down at you, it was as if you were staring right at her. But you only saw what looked like a strange haze against the wall that gave you an odd feeling. You could have sworn that something was there. And that you were being watched, but as you heard Peter call you, you ignored it and went on with your game.  
  
 _She almost saw you._  
  
“I know that!” the stepmother snapped. It appeared you were going to be more trouble than she had originally thought. Whatever she was going to do, she would need to be careful. At this rate, you might not be touchable. “Watch her, Sabbath.”  
  
 _As you wish._  
  
Meanwhile, you couldn’t shake that something was off.  
  
“_________, are you alright?” Peter asked you, “You look worried.”  
  
“No, it’s just –,” you gasped as you saw a black bird land on your mother’s fairytale book. “No! Shoo! Shoo!” you shouted while swatting at the bird. He cawed loudly and pecked at you. You shielded yourself from him and he flew off after a few seconds.  
  
“Are you okay?!” Peter asked. You smoothed your hair and gave a huff.  
  
“Yes. I just didn’t want it to get on the book. Maybe we should head inside. I’ll read to you some more.”  
  
“Okay.”  
  
“Peter,” you started while he looked up at you with wide eyes, “Did you… did you notice anything odd about that bird?”  
  
“Odd like what?”  
  
“It had dark red eyes.”  
  
“I didn’t see anything.”  
  
“Okay.” You thought that you should brush it off, but, recently, brushing off bad feelings wasn’t proving to be such a good idea. You’d investigate later.  
  
~  
  
You crept through the castle with nothing but a candle and the moonlight that shone through the large windows to light your way. So far you had been lucky and hadn’t run into any of the guards. You couldn’t think of any excuse to be running about the castle at this hour, and, frankly, you were sure that anything you could come up with would be unbelievable. You breathed a sigh of relief once the door was in sight. You opened the door. It was silent. Now you were certain someone was using the stairway. The hinges should have been creaking with age. Someone didn’t want anyone to know that this tower was in use. You climbed the stairs quietly, thankful that none of them creaked, before reaching a small door. You rested your hand against it. What would you find? Would it shock you? Disturb you? Drive you mad? You took a deep breath in. It was for the good of your family. You pushed against the wood and watched it open. Nothing had jumped out at you so far.  
You peered in through the door. You were certain everyone in the castle other than the guards was asleep and that the room would be empty, but it never hurt to be careful. It was dark except for the eerie yellow-green glow of lanterns mixed with the pale bluish-white glow of the moon shining through the window. No one was around, so you took a step inside and closed the door quietly behind you.  
  
 _Caw! Caw!_ That bird again! Not this time! The crow which had been flying about in a flurry, partially blocking your vision with its mess of black feathers, was soon wriggling between your hands. You were not fond of this bird, but you were even less fond of animal cruelty. So you tied its beak shut with a piece of twine that had been nearby on a frayed rope and locked it in its brass bird cage. Now that you had him out of the way you could take a proper look around. On the walls were strange symbols and drawings that you did not understand. A small table had a large book resting upon it, open to a page with more writing you couldn’t understand and a skull and feathers and herbs sketched onto the pages. The black cauldron took up most of the room, so you maneuvered around it to reach the bookshelf which was on the opposite side of the room. You squinted, unable to see very well in the dim lighting. You picked one of thicker books and opened it to a random page. You gasped and slammed it shut then laughed at yourself for being frightened by an illustration. You flipped back to the page and examined the creature. It was such a strange book. You looked at the letters on the page next to it. This language…. You recognized it but didn’t understand it. You vaguely remembered a time when Allistor had shown you a book with similar writing that he had studied for a few years while he was away in the same country he had picked up his accent – he had visited that country most because it was his favorite. You’d take it with you and ask him to translate it. The crow noticed you starting to leave and pecked and scratched at the cage’s bars. You just stuck your tongue out at him and left.  
  
~  
  
Allistor frowned at the book. He flipped through it, occasionally stopping to examine something, before he settled his hard gaze on you.  
  
“You shouldn’t be dabbling in these sorts of things,” he scolded. He thought you were the culprit?  
  
“It’s not mine!” you snapped.  
  
“Then who does it belong to?”  
  
“Our new stepmother.” Allistor a month or so ago would have not believed you, but upon seeing the stepmother’s true colors, wasn’t too doubtful of your accusation.  
  
“Show me.”  
  
“You led him up the stairs to the tower once the two of you were sure that your stepmother was elsewhere. You walked through the door and turned back to say something but stopped when you noticed Allistor’s confused stare. You went back down a few steps and he blinked in surprise.  
  
“What’s wrong?” you asked him.  
  
“I was fixin’ to yell at you for bringing me up here for nothing, but when I looked up, you had disappeared. Then you came back through the wall acting like it didn’t happen.” You looked between the doorway and Allistor, confused as to what he could mean.  
  
“What are you talking about? The door is right there,” you said, pointing for emphasis. You walked back through the doorway.  
  
“See! Now quit fooling around…,” you trailed off as you watched Allistor feeling around the air.   
You noticed a thin green film ripple whenever his hands were laid on it. You walked back to where he was.  
  
“I saw a barrier on the other side of the door when you touched it!”  
  
“Then it’s no use. The door’s cursed. I can’t get in.”  
  
“But how am I able to see it and you’re not? How can I get in and you can’t?”  
  
“I’m not sure, but I’m willing to bet it’s on account of the quality of your soul.”  
  
“My soul?”  
  
“Pure as the angels of God. We should go before she returns.” You nodded, brushing off what your brother had said about angels. He walked briskly with you trotting behind him just to keep up. Damn him and his long legs.  
  
“What will we do now?” you asked. Now that you had Allistor to vouch for you, your brothers were sure to believe that something was truly wrong with your stepmother.  
  
“We’ll talk to Arthur, Dylan, and Seamus. And I’ll contact my friend Lukas. They know more about this sort of thing than I do. We’ll tell them our stepmother is a witch.”  
  
“A witch?! Do you really think so?”  
  
“That book you found was a spell book full of curses.” Your eyes widened in surprise. “Tell me, what else was in that room?”  
  
“A large cauldron, more books, lots of strange symbols and stuff all over the walls and a bird and its cage.”  
  
“A bird?” he asked, stopping short and causing you to run right into his back.  
  
“Yes, why?” you asked a bit testily as you rubbed your nose. He swore. True, it didn’t take much to make Allistor mad or swear, but to swear over something as trivial as a pet? “What’s wrong with a bird?”  
  
“Witches are known to have familiars. They can speak to them and communicate. Did the bird see you?” You felt a pit of dread in your stomach.  
  
“It attacked me when I walked.”  
  
“Shit!” he swore loudly before pacing back and forth before you. “Come on,” he said, grabbing your hand and starting off at an even faster pace than before. He walked (you ran) to Dylan’s room and burst through the doors. No one. He repeated the process with Arthur’s and Seamus’s rooms, and still there was no one there.  
  
“Um, pardon me your highnesses,” a maid said with a curtsey. Allistor looked at her with a stern glare, too impatient to want to listen to whatever she had to say. She shrank back a bit.  
  
“D-dinner is served.” Ah, so that’s where they were. In his hurry, he hadn’t paid attention to what time it was.  
  
“Very well. Be off then.”  
  
“Yes, your highness,” she squeaked before scampering off.  
  
“You didn’t have to be so mean,” you muttered. He just gave an exasperated sigh. Being rude to women would be the least of his problems if their stepmother found out they’d been in her secret chamber.  
  
“We’ll go to dinner and then we must talk with our brothers _immediately_ afterwards.” You nodded as the two of you walked to the dining hall where you found everyone else was already seated and waiting for your arrival. You kissed your father on the cheek and muttered a soft “good evening,” before you took your spot between Raivis and Eduard. Allistor whistled for a good ten seconds before it was silenced by your stepmother.  
  
“Vulgar child,” she sneered.  
  
“He didn’t mean any harm by it,” your father offered, “His mother found his whistling to be quite amusing when she was alive.”  
  
“But it won’t help him in the future now will it?” she snapped. Your father shrank back a little.  
  
“No, I suppose you’re right.”  
  
You barely tasted any of the food you ate you were so nervous. You tried your best not to show it, but it was hard to keep your hands from shaking.  
  
“Are you alright?” Eduard whispered so stepmother wouldn’t hear. Your eyes snapped up from your plate and looked at his worried eyes.  
  
“What makes you think something is wrong?”  
  
“You’ve been scraping at an empty spot on your plate and eating air for a little while now.” Your face burned with a dark flush. You looked across the table to see Allistor absorbed in his meal, acting casual far better than you were but wearing a stern expression. You noticed Arthur, Dylan, and Seamus wearing similar expressions. Had you missed something?  
  
“I’m fine,” you insisted, ignoring the worried look Raivis cast you as well. You sighed.  
  
“If you need to talk about something…,” he started.  
  
“Talk with Allistor and me after dinner. There’s something… unnerving.”  
  
“No whispering!” your stepmother snapped, “If you have something to say, ______, kindly share it with the rest of us.”  
  
“I’ve nothing to say,” you said solemnly, not meeting her eyes.  
  
“Then keep your mouth _shut_!” You looked at your father who only gave you a look of sympathy. Why was he doing nothing to defend you against such unnecessary severity? Dinners were so quiet now with the addition of your stepmother. Before your brothers told tales of their travels – even if some of them were exaggerated a bit – and you and your father and younger brothers loved hearing about them. Sometimes they’d entertain you with faerie stories or tales of mythical creatures that they came across – your favorites being the ones of the creature in the lake Allistor described (even naming it the Loch Ness) and the one Arthur spoke of, a whimsical, mint-colored, winged rabbit.  
  
~  
  
“Now what’s this all about?” Toris asked you once you had gathered all of your brothers (except Peter) together in Allistor’s room.  
  
“Stepmother is a witch!” you blurted out. Most of your brothers rolled their eyes.  
  
“Honestly, ______, not _this_ again. I’ll admit she’s unfair and very unpleasant, but a witch?” Gilbert said with crossed arms and giving you a look of disappointment, one that the rest of your brothers, save for Allistor, mimicked.  
  
“She _is_ a witch! I swear it!”  
  
“She’s right this time,” Allistor said gravely. All eyes turned to him. “She showed me one of her books earlier,” he said showing it to them, “And when ______ led me to where she was keeping it, only ______ could get in due to her purity.”  
  
Arthur, Dylan, and Seamus closely inspected the book, their foreheads wrinkling in what you assumed to be concentration. The rest of your brothers peered over their shoulders to get a look at the book.  
  
“What’s worse is that she has a familiar and chances are that it won’t be long until the step-witch finds out that someone knows.”  
  
“What’ll we do?”  
“We hope for the best until we have a just plan that gives more than enough proof that the stepmother is a witch,” Gilbert suggested.  
  
“Why not repeat what ______ did earlier to prove it to you, Allistor?” asked Francis.  
  
“Because we need to inspect the castle for other magic now. We have no idea if she already knows and has cursed or hexed anything. We need to be assured that any plan of ours will work.” Right now the odds were clearly not in your favor.  
  
“So all we can do is wait for now?” Toris inquired with a shaky voice. He always did have a nervous disposition – him and Raivis and occasionally Eduard.  
  
“That seems to be our only option,” Allistor muttered. There was a grave air to the room now. What would happen to you all now? Tears bubbled in your eyes.  
  
“I wish I had just listened to you all. If I hadn’t gotten curious, we wouldn’t be here now,” you sobbed out. Antonio put a comforting hand on your head and ruffled your hair, giving you a gentle smile.  
  
“A witch only has bad intent. Better we find out now rather than later.” You tried to smile for him, but you were sure you weren’t doing a very good job.  
  
“Can you try to smile like you’re not in pain?” Allistor joked. For a brief moment you all shared a laugh, and your worries lifted a bit. At least you were all in this together.  
  
~  
  
It was just past sunrise, a time when you would awake and gaze out of your window and out into the red-orange sky dotted with pink clouds and purple mountains on the horizon, but instead you awoke to white. Well, white feathers. Before you were swans. Eleven swans with wings tipped with different colors. You thought for a second that you might be dreaming, but a pinch of your arm said otherwise. One of the swans, one with bright red tipped wings, fluttered its wings to lift off of the ground before landing on your lap on your bed. Around its neck was a pendant. You cautiously examined it. The swan didn’t seem to mind. It was a Scottish symbol that you recognized. Allistor had brought one back on one of his trips. A swan with gold tipped wings placed a rose on your bed. A swan with silvery gray tipped wings placed an iron cross before. You gasped. You hadn’t needed to see anymore.  
  
You looked to the one who sat upon your bed with tears beginning to build in your eyes as it gazed back at you with saddened green eyes. You hugged it close.  
  
“Oh, Allistor!” you sobbed. “All of you! What has she done to you?” They moved in to try and show some form of comfort, but they heard the rush of heavy boots thudding on the wooden floor and fluttered out of the window instead. You let Allistor go and urged him away tossing him lightly and watching him fly out too. Not a second later, two guards burst into your room. You were ready to beg them for help, but they interrupted you.  
  
“Princess ________, you are from henceforth banished from the kingdom for the acts of witchcraft, the murder and disposal of your brothers, and treason against the kingdom.” And just like that your whole world was crashing down around you. You vaguely remembered kicking and screaming for them to let you go as they dragged you from the castle. You had passed your father and cried out for him to help you, but he only looked at you with sadness and disappointment and turned away. Your stepmother sneered at you as you screamed at her that she was a witch. But it wasn’t like anyone believed you. They bound your hands and tossed you into a cart before escorting you out of the kingdom and dumping you in the forest.  
  
You couldn’t believe this was happening. You cried bitterly for yourself and your brothers and your father whose fate was now in far more danger now that no one was there to warn them. You hadn’t stopped crying until you heard the flutter of wings and your brothers gathered around you.  
  
“What will we do now? She’s convinced father that I’m a witch and killed you all. No one will take me in for this. I’ve nowhere to go. And no way to take care of any of you.” That was when a swan with dark gold tipped feathers and green eyes began to fly away.  
  
“Arthur where are you going?” He just flew away and left you there wondering. You stood and started walking. You had nowhere to go, so there was a really good chance you were going to die. But you knew that it was certain you would die if you just sat there. You had been walking for an hour when Arthur returned with….  
  
You blinked. Fluttering before you was a small, mint-colored rabbit. You opened and closed your mouth, no words could possibly, accurately describe the confusion and disbelief you felt. Things like this simply didn’t exist. But, looking at your brothers, that wasn’t the oddest thing to happen to you that day.  
  
“H-hello,” you said, suddenly remembering your manners and dipping into a curtsey.  
  
“Greetings. You must be ________. Arthur’s told me so much about you. You _are_ polite.”  
  
“T-thank you,” you said with a light blush coating your cheeks.  
  
“From what I’ve gathered, you’ve come into some trouble?”  
  
“Yes. Could you help? My brothers have been cursed. Is there some way to save them?”  
  
“There is _one_ way. Are you willing to take on such a task?”  
  
“Yes! Yes! I’d do anything for my brothers.”  
  
“In a graveyard a few miles from here to the east there are plants called stinging nettles. You can use those to make shirts.”  
  
“Shirts?”  
  
“Yes, once all of the shirts are woven, toss them onto the backs of your brothers and the curse will be broken.”  
  
“Thank you! Thank you so much! How can I ever repay you for this kindness?” you asked as you bowed repeatedly.  
  
“Just return my friend to his original form. A word of warning though: When you begin to weave the shirts, if you speak before your task is complete, your brothers will die.” And with that the little magical creature was gone.  
  
“Arthur,” you said, looking at him, “I’ll never doubt you again.” He somehow managed to give you a smug look.  
  
You walked the few miles to the graveyard, the sun had begun to set by the time you reached it.   
  
“This must be the place,” you said solemnly. You took gentle steps into the graveyard, as if you were afraid to disturb the people lying there. It wasn’t a large cemetery but it was still a reasonable size. You walked through the graveyard until you came across some stinging nettles. You eyed them for a minute, your heart racing. You were distracted by a bright white light that then enveloped your brothers. You shielded your eyes from it.  
  
“You can open your eyes now, ________.” It was Dylan’s voice. You opened your eyes and gathered as many of your brothers as you could into your arms to hug them, tears of relief washing down your face.  
  
“Apparently her spell only affects us in the day,” Seamus concluded.  
  
“I swear to God I’ll fix this,” you said while holding back a sob. They all looked at you.  
  
“It won’t be easy,” Arthur started, “But we believe in you. We’ll bring you what we can to eat. You stay here and weave the shirts.” You nodded.  
  
“I suppose I’ll start now then,” you said as you sat next to a large bush of nettles and reached your hands out to gather some.  
  
“We’ll go get something to eat,” Eduard offered, “Peter you stay here with ________.” Peter nodded obediently. Under any other circumstances, he would’ve offered some form of protest, but everyone was too somber to do anything but what was necessary.  
  
~  
  
Your hands stung. You had been weaving all night aside from when your brothers returned with fruits from the forest. You had only gotten through about one-eighth of the first shirt, and already your hands were developing painful blisters. Your older brothers took turns watching the area and patrolling to make sure you were undisturbed and unharmed. You had finally finished the first shirt shortly after midday the next day, and, by then, your hands and a good percentage of the shirt were a bit bloody. It was a small shirt perfect for Raivis.  
  
You wove two more shirts as the week wore on, your progress slowed slightly by the pain in your blistered and bloodied hands. Each day blended into the next, and your only break was when you ate or when your brothers managed to tell you to stop for a moment. It was honestly painful for them to watch you as new blisters formed and watch the other ones burst, hearing you give light gasps of pain when they did. It was a rather monotonous routine.  
  
You didn’t know that your routine would change one day when a king came riding through with some of his escorts. Cutting a path through the forest and past the graveyard was a quicker way for him to reach his home than going down the marked path. It wasn’t as safe, but the king was a great warrior. It was when he was riding through that he gave half a glance towards the graveyard, not expecting to see anything but maybe a few headstones and perhaps a mausoleum. He didn’t expect to see a beautiful young maiden surrounded by beautiful swans. He slowed his horse down and eventually stopped it, his escorts looking at him curiously.  
  
“Is there something troubling you?” one of them, a young man with white hair and amethyst eyes, asked. It was unlike the king to slow down for anything. He was always in a rush and sometimes his escorts wondered if he ever even saw the beautiful world he was passing by. But the kind didn’t say anything. He dismounted and took a few slow steps in your direction.  
  
“Hey, idiot! What are you staring at?” another one of his escorts, a man similar in age, but a bit older, to the first one asked. He was a blonde man with dulled, blue eyes.  
  
“Do you all see that?” the king finally asked as he continued to admire you from afar.  
  
“See what, my lord?” a brown-eyed blonde asked. The king frowned a bit at the formality – he had asked them to address him casually – but quickly brushed it off.  
  
“That girl over there. The one with the swans,” he murmured almost to himself. He had seen many beautiful women in his life, but you had to be one of the prettiest. Perhaps it was the light reflecting off of the pure white of the swans, giving you a slight glow that made you seem like such an ethereal beauty. But he imagined you were still beautiful even without the glow. After all, you had managed to make someone who almost never stopped to admire scenery stop altogether and _just_ to stare at you nonetheless.  
  
“I see her!” the brown-eyed one cried. They all gathered close by the king to see you better.  
  
“Are we just going to gawk at her all day, Matthias?”  
  
“You’re right!” the king, Matthias, exclaimed. “I’m going to go talk to her!”  
  
“ _Not_ what I had in mind,” Lukas, the blonde haired, blue-eyed one grumbled. Usually, anything that was able to capture the king’s attention never kept it for long. The escorts looked at each other for a moment. It was odd that a woman was sitting in a graveyard.  
  
“Excuse me, miss,” Matthias said as he approached you. Immediately all the swans gathered protectively in front of you. You clutched the shirt you were working on in your hands. Your heart was pounding though the reason why was lost on you. You were frightened yes, but it was also difficult not to feel nervous in front of such a handsome stranger. A blush was rising to your cheeks. “Ah, I’m sorry if I upset your pets.” You bit back a laugh at such a notion. You could imagine the slight annoyance that each of your brothers harbored at the moment. “I just saw you sitting here, and y-you’re very beautiful and I wanted to know your name.” Wow. He was very forward. You blushed at the compliment. You opened your mouth and motioned towards it before shaking your head. He blinked and you repeated the action with a bit more emphasis.  
  
“You can’t speak?” You nodded then shook your head. “Where do you live?” Your mind immediately went back to your home, memories of being ripped from the life you once knew springing up fresh in your mind. Tears stung your eyes and ran freely down your face. Matthias stepped forward to brush the tears from your face, and you froze, your blush returning even deeper than before. You glanced away and could have sworn you saw Dylan roll his eyes and Gilbert trying not to laugh – or whatever it was swans did to show their amusement. For a moment you had forgotten that your brothers were still in there. You were sure you’d never hear the end of it from Gilbert and Francis – and probably a remark or two from Allistor.  
  
“I see,” Matthias said gravely, “I’d be honored if you would come live with me. My name is Matthias I live in a kingdom a ways away from here, but I’d like to take you with me if you have nowhere else to go.” Your eyes widened at his kindness. You pointed to the baskets you had woven one day and filled with stinging nettles. It was quite a chore to walk to other parts of the cemetery to find small bushes of nettles that did not even complete one shirt. You had taken to gathering large amounts in the baskets so you could spend more time weaving. You then pointed to the shirts you had made so far and held up the one you were currently holding, Matthias noticing your blistered hands for the first time.  
  
“We can bring it with you. And I’ll get you some gloves you can weave with so your hands can heal,” he said as he gingerly took one of your hands in his. You didn’t know how to thank him, so you hugged him quite suddenly. He froze. He wasn’t expecting that. Then you did a polite bow. He smiled and began to lead you away, your pets brothers following behind you. He led you to where there were four other men waiting, each with horses.  
  
“I’m bringing her back with me,” Matthias said as he helped you up on the horse. He went back and   
got the baskets containing the nettles and shirts and tied along with his saddle bags.  
  
“Just like that?!” Lukas asked, astonished. What kind of girl just went along with strangers?  
  
“Well she has no other place to go. And her pets are coming to.” They looked bewilderedly at the swans following you.   
  
“Do you even know her name?” Emil, the white haired one asked.  
  
“Not yet. She can’t speak, so she wasn’t able to tell me.”  
  
“How will you be able to communicate?” Tino, the brown-eyed one pressed.  
  
“We’ll figure something out,” Matthias said, brushing it off as he mounted his horse. You wrapped your arms around his torso and he rested one arm around your waist, holding the reigns in his other hand.  
  
“Just as well, miss, you’ll find that he’ll talk enough for the both of you,” Lukas quipped. You smiled.  
  
“T’lks too m’ch,” a tall and often silent Berwald finally chimed in. Matthias just laughed.  
  
~  
  
You hadn’t expected that when you arrived in the kingdom a few days later that you would be staying at the castle. You were able to guess that by how well groomed he was and that he was of noble birth, but you had never imagined that he was a king. It must have been the most interesting thing in the world to have the king return with a girl he had found weaving stinging nettles into shirts in a graveyard and eleven swans. He had you brought to a room with a large bed, a desk with stationery, and a large window that over looked the kingdom. The bed spreads were silken and beautiful. But the view was one of the most breath-taking you’d ever seen. You walked to the window and peered at it, marveling at all you could see.  
  
“I thought you might like the view. Will you have your swans in a different room or would you prefer them to be here?” You thought about it for a bit before gesturing to the room you were currently in. “Very well. Shall I have your weaving materials brought up?” You nodded. “One more quick questions. Where do your swans disappear to every night?” You weren’t sure how to answer, so thinking quickly you merely pointed out the window and into the sky. “For a fly?” You nodded. “Ah, I see. For a girl who can’t talk, you’re doing pretty well at this no talk-communication thing. I’ll go have you things sent up then,” he said with a wave before walking out of the door. Just as he was walking out, in came Tino.  
  
“I hope everything is to your liking,” he said with a smile. You nodded vigorously. You walked over to the desk and grabbed paper and something to write with before scribbling down, “ _Everything here is lovely. I can’t thank you or your king enough for your kindness_ ,” and showing it to him.  
  
“Well, his highness is quite smitten with you. I’ve never seen him stop to stare at anything, but you stop him completely and make him want to whisk you away,” he said with a light laugh. You blushed. “I’ll send someone up with fresh clothes and to alert when dinner is ready. Will your swans be dining here?” You nodded.  
  
You wrote, “ _They eat fruits, nuts, grains and fresh greens like lettuce and spinach. And I’m warning you: they eat a lot. About as much as eleven grown men._ ”  
  
“I’ll see that they’re well fed. Should I have them bring the food up now?”  
  
“ _Yes, please. They must be fed before sunset because they go out for their evening flight._ ”  
  
“I see. I’ll have it taken care of.” He smiled then left. Your brothers filed into the room hurriedly and you could hear the cracking of a whip. You rushed to the door and grabbed the whip mid-crack before it could touch your brothers. You felt pain shoot through your hand, no doubt because the whip had broken the skin and a few blisters. Your eyes watered in pain and two of the swans began to flap about and cry angrily at the stable hand that led them in. He was a middle-aged looking man who apparently wasn’t fond of birds. Never had you heard of anyone driving a flock with a whip.  
  
“What’s going on here?” Matthias spoke up. He was carrying the baskets and followed by Lukas and several servants who looked alarmed at what they saw. You grabbed your brothers and set them inside the room and closed the door.  
  
“I was leading the birds to where you said, and she got in the way.”  
  
“You don’t lead birds with a whip imbecile!” Lukas snapped, not one for foolishness.  
  
“Are you okay? Let me see your hand,” Matthias said as he gently took your wrist and looked over your bleeding hand. You had already managed to reel in the tears that had threatened to spill at the initial pain you felt. So you felt relief that he wouldn’t worry as much. “What exactly were you thinking?!” he snapped at the stable hand. He flinched.  
  
“Forgive me, your majesty. I didn’t know the birds were of high importance.”  
  
“Whether or not they are of high importance, animals should not be treated cruelly.”  
  
“Yes, your majesty,” the stable hand said while giving a bow. Matthias sighed.  
  
“Be gone,” he ordered before returning to inspect your hand. “Come with me,” he told you and he led you to where the doctor of the castle was kept before cleaning and dressing your hand himself. For someone who was royalty, he knew his way around simple tasks such as this. You tilted your head a bit.  
  
“As a child I would spend a lot of time around the servants. I learned how to take care of myself even if I wouldn’t really have to,” he said, noticing your curious gaze. You studied his face as he wrapped the bandages around your hand. His hair was very wild, but it suit him in a way. And his eyes were mesmerizing to you, especially now. Most times you had seen them, they were brighter and full of more energy, but now they were gentle. You liked his smile. It was infectious, or at least every time you saw his smile you couldn’t help but do the same.  
  
“Is this any better?” he asked, looking into your eyes. He was so close. You blushed immensely and quickly looked away before nodding. He chuckled. “You’re very shy aren’t you?” It was strange. Because you weren’t usually shy. But now….  
  
You looked back up at him.  
  
“Wow…,” he said lowly as he stared at your wide eyes. He brushed a strand of hair from your face.   
“I-I’m sorry,” he suddenly apologized as he blushed, “I don’t even know your name.” You smiled and took his hand in yours, placing his palm face-up. You traced the letters into his palm a few times.  
  
“Your name is _________?” You nodded. “_________...,” he repeated. You liked the way he said your name. Or perhaps you just liked that he was saying it.  
  
~  
  
Someone was having trouble accepting the presence of a girl with wild swans for pets. It was just unnatural. And your silence was just as much so. The priest clutched a small cross in his hands as he paced back and forth. He probably wouldn’t have cared quite so much if it weren’t for the blisters. The thick blisters that had sprung up on your hands from weaving shirts. Getting blisters from types of handicrafts and needle works was not that uncommon, but who ever heard of a woman weaving with stinging nettles?! It was… unnatural, as well as how suddenly you had enchanted the king. It simply didn’t bode well with him.  
  
“Your highness,” he said one day when he was granted audience with the king, “If I may, I request to speak to you about your guest.” You had been keeping him company that day. You had been urged by your brothers to take a break. Your hands couldn’t take much more, even though Matthias had bought you gloves. They were so lovely, you didn’t want to ruin them. It had been about three weeks since you had arrived at the castle and about 9 ¾ of the shirts were completed. During this time you had spent your nights weaving and slept in the afternoons. During the mornings you were spending your time with Matthias whom you had become quite smitten with. He was very loud and talk a lot, but he was very sweet and considerate. He came off as oblivious, but was smarter and cleverer than a lot of people gave him credit for. And there was no doubt in anyone else’s mind that you had captured his heart quite suddenly.  
  
“Of course,” he said softly as he held your hands gently in his. You smiled gently.  
  
“Ahem. Alone, your highness.”  
  
“Is something wrong that you don’t wish for her to hear?”  
  
“Something along those lines.”  
  
“_________, if you don’t mind….” Matthias started. You smiled and left the room.  
  
“What is it you wanted?”  
  
“That girl, your highness. She doesn’t sit well with me.”  
  
“Who? _______?” Matthias laughed, “How could she not? She’s a good person.”  
  
“She appears that way, yet her silence unnerves me. And what she does. The servants I spoke to that serve you speak of her weaving at night and hearing multiple voices from beyond her door. When the doors are open, they find more of her bloodied shirts woven and the swans lying about her. Yet no one has seen anyone going in or out of her room except of a few occasions.”  
  
“A few occasions?”  
  
“Yes, I had a young lad that works here watch her. I wasn’t sure at first if when people heard voices in her room if someone was going in disturbing her sleep, but he said nothing happened until one night when she left her room in nothing but her nightgown and a cloak. He followed her to a graveyard in the kingdom. Apparently she was looking for more of the stinging nettles.”  
  
“It’s odd, but we all have our secrets.”  
  
“Yes, but it may lead me to believe she’s a witch.” Matthias froze.  
  
“Accusations such as that should not be tossed around.”  
  
“I understand that, your highness, but please understand my concern.”  
  
“I don’t want to discuss it further. She’s not a witch. You may go now.”  
  
“As you command, your highness.” The priest left with even more suspicions. Could the king really be so nonchalant about the evidence presented? Was he bewitched? He would need to pray about this. He hurried away to the church.  
  
The king found you in the garden sitting on a stone bench. The sun was beginning to set and the orange glow of the sunset made you look enchanting.  
  
“I had wondered where you were.” You looked at him and smiled before scooting over a little on the bench to make room for him.  
  
“The priest… he thinks you’re a witch.” Your eyes widened and your breathing picked up. You shook your head fervently.  
  
“Calm down! Calm down! I didn’t believe him. It’s just he saw you leave your room. Or rather he had someone watch your room and they saw you leave to get more nettles.” Someone had seen you?! “I just wanted to tell you not to do it anymore. If you need any more I’ll go with you in the day. It’s just until his suspicions die down, okay?” You were immensely relieved but not entirely. It was quiet for a while between the two of you until he picked up your hand and caressed it.   
  
“Do you believe in love at first sight?” You were surprised at the question. You shook your head. He chuckled a bit.  
  
“I didn’t either, but then there’s you.” You blushed at his statement. “I don’t know what happened. I just looked at you, and I knew I wanted you. To be with you, and I don’t care how long it takes. I’ll do whatever I can to make you love me the way I love you.” You blushed even more deeply at his confession. He brought you close and placed a soft, sweet kiss on your lips. Your eyes fluttered shut at the sensation. He pulled away, and you longed for more.  
  
“I want you to stay here with me. Would you like that?” It sounded wonderful, but what about when Peter and Raivis were human again? They would go home to your father. Your father. You had to save him from your stepmother. “I’ll give you time to think about it,” he said as he stood up. He placed a kiss on your forehead.  
  
“I really hope you’ll stay,” he said before he left you to think about it.  
  
~  
  
The priest was bowed at the alter praying for an answer, his head bowed and pressed to his clasped   
hands and his eyes closed as he fervently prayed that the girl the king kept so close was not a witch and that she was just as odd as he claimed her to be.  
  
When he opened his eyes a black crow with red eyes stood before him and gave a loud _caw_! He fell back with a yell. The crow flew to the top of the church and landed on one of the ceiling support beams near the angels carved from wood were perched. They looked down on him and frowned before shaking his head. The priest felt nothing but sheer unadulterated terror before sprinting from the church into the night to talk to the captain of the guard unknowing that the angels were denying your guilt. No one knew your innocence better than they.  
  
~  
  
Almost done. You were weaving the last shirt for Peter. It was almost done. Just a few more hours and you’d be able to speak. Your brothers were not there other than Raivis and Peter. The others had gone out to celebrate what was possibly their last night as swans. They were next to a chiffonier in case someone burst into the room. You had never had trouble with such before, but you had always told your brothers to have a plan of escape just in case. They often left at night and left Raivis and Peter behind. That way if anyone came into the room, they could hide in the chiffonier and the room would be empty for everyone other than you.  
  
“I can’t wait to be human again,” Peter sighed. You sympathized with him ad Raivis. It was no doubt difficult to have to sit in the room watching you weave while your brothers were allowed out on the   
town.  
  
“It’ll be alright,” Raivis said, putting a hand on Peter’s shoulder, “We’ll go back, get rid of the stepmother, and live together happily.”  
  
“And __________ will be able to speak again. Then she can read me stories!” Peter said excitedly.  
  
“Do you ever think about what you’ll do when you get back, _________?” You set down the shirt you were working on. When you got back. If you went back. You thought about Matthias and his offer to stay. If you stayed, there would be no doubt that you would fall in love with him. You were already on your way to it as it was.  
  
“_________?” Peter called. You looked up and sighed. You looked away.  
  
“Do you not want to go home?” Raivis asked. It wasn’t that. “Is it the king?” Your breath hitched.  
  
“Do you want to stay with him, ________?” You looked at the two of them. Then you heard what sounded like heavy footsteps approaching and some of the chambermaids yelling. You dropped what you were doing and practically shoved Raivis and Peter into the chiffonier and shoved your back against the doors.  
  
“There she is!” the priest burst into the room with several guards.  
  
“What is the meaning of this?!” It was Matthias. Tino and Lukas heard the commotion as it passed their rooms and had alerted the king.  
  
“Your highness you are bewitched! That girl is a witch!” the priest shouted while pointing an accusing finger at you. You flinched. This couldn’t be happening again. Not again.  
  
“She is _not_!” he defended.  
  
“I didn’t want to believe it either your highness, but I was in the church praying when her familiar appeared to me. A crow with feathers as black as sin and eyes red like the devil’s hellfire.” You gasped. It couldn’t have been the same crow as your stepmother’s. Could it? “See how she gasps! She knows the bird!” You shook your head as tears streamed down your face. “If that weren’t enough, the angels shook their heads and looked down with contempt. The heavens have condemned this girl!”  
  
“________! Just say it! Speak! Tell them you are not a witch!” Matthias begged you. You could only let the tears fall silently as you slid to the floor in defeat. You could say nothing. Not if you wanted your brothers to live.  
  
“She doesn’t deny it.” Matthias looked on sadly. What else could he do? By silence you had condemned yourself. You could not save witches. Not even if you were the king.  
  
“What shall we do with her, my lord?” the guard asked as he roughly seized you by your elbow.  
  
“I… I don’t know,” Matthias said dejectedly.  
  
“She still has her spell upon him. Take her to the dungeon until the morning where she will be burned at the stake for her crimes. And throw her weavings in there with her. They’ll be burned with her,” the priest ordered. You looked at Tino and Lukas as you were led past them. They had confused and doubtful eyes. They were about as sure as Matthias that you weren’t a witch. But they could do nothing.  
  
So now here you were. Weaving in the dim light of the moon that shown through the thin, rectangular, barred windows near the ceiling of where you were being held. You were weaving much faster now though. Your life depended on it. The only way out of this was by your own word, and you would weave until your last breath. Even if you could not save yourself, you would work to save your brothers. You wove all night until the first rays of light when the guards came and tossed you onto a tumbril to be carted away to the center of town. The king and his escorts rode alongside you.  
  
A crowd had been waiting outside of the palace gates crying angrily for your execution. Several people had tried throwing stones at you, but, thankfully, the bars of the tumbril had deflected them so far. A few tears slipped down your face, but you didn’t pause or slow in your weaving. Your hands were shaking slightly as the crowd’s anger and rowdiness grew. They were screaming about ripping the weaving and shirts away from you. You brought them closer to you as a few people made a grab for them. “Witch!” they screamed. It was when someone had almost hit you with a rock that your brothers descended from their place in the sky and surrounded you, their wings extended to shield you from the crowd. Now the crowd quieted and shrunk back. The glow of the pure white wings accompanied by the unique feather colorings on the tips of their wings awed the crowd, causing them to wonder if the swans were a sign from the heavens that you may have been innocent. But it didn’t matter anymore. They opened the tumbril and before you was a large pile of wood with a large stake standing up intimidatingly from the center. You gathered the shirts and threw them onto the backs of your brothers before you were roughly tied to the stake.  
  
“I am not a witch!” The crowd froze. The executioner froze. Matthias and his escorts froze. A burst of light redirected the crowd’s attention to where the swans once were to your brothers, now human and standing before the crowd in silken robes rather than shirts made of stinging plants. The only one to stand out was Peter who retained one wing because you didn’t have time to finish his shirt. You let out a sob and the attention went back to you. “I am not a witch,” you cried again. Then you fainted.  
  
“She speaks the truth,” Allistor said as he stepped forward. Your brothers formed a barricade in front of you.  
  
“This woman, our sister, is not a witch. The opposite actually,” Francis spoke up.  
  
“She’s pure and has spent her time in silence weaving until her hands were blistered to save us,”   
Antonio said.  
  
“We were cursed by our stepmother, a true witch,” Gilbert said with a bit of bite in his voice.  
  
“________ did all she could to save us, and if she had spoken during her time weaving, we would have died. She is innocent,” Toris said as he gestured to you. As they spoke, the bed of kindling you had fainted on turned into a bed of flowers, with a long vine winding up the stake in the middle, sprouting a large, white rose.  
  
“I believe you,” Matthias said as he rushed to get to you. He plucked the rose from its vine and laid it on your chest. It melted into you, and your eyes fluttered open. You had only ever really seen Matthias smile, so waking up to see tears in his eyes was odd to you. You reached a hand up and brushed a few tears away.  
  
“Please don’t cry,” you uttered. He just kissed you, too happy to have you when he was so sure he was going to lose you.  
  
~  
  
After your witch trial had ended and blown over. Your brothers, with the help of Matthias, had exposed your stepmother for the woman she was and she was promptly executed. Your brothers were happy they would start travelling again. Peter and Raivis were just happy to be home but that left one thing unresolved.  
  
“________,” your father asked as you all sat down for a family dinner with Matthias, “King Matthias has brought to my attention his feelings for you.” You blushed and your brothers slowed their eating as they paid more attention to the conversation. They all knew, and if they didn’t, then the time they caught you and Matthias kissing in the garden certainly made it obvious. “I’d like to know what your intentions are from this point. Are you going to stay or leave with him?” You set your fork down. You knew this moment was coming and had thought about it for a long time.  
  
“________,” Matthias interrupted before you could give you answer, “I swear I’ll make your every day with me better than the last. You’ll want for nothing. I love you.”  
  
“I know,” you answered, “I want to be with you.” Matthias smiled.  
  
“Marvelous!” your father cheered. “When can we expect a wedding?”  
  
“Eventually,” Matthias answered, “I plan to fully earn her love before then.”  
  
“What will you do until then?” Eduard jumped into the conversation.  
  
“I want to travel with her and show her all the wonders of the world. If that’s alright with her?”  
  
“I’d love nothing more,” you answered.  
  
About nineteen months later you and Matthias were married. You spent your time traveling with him and were the happiest you had ever been.  
  
“I love you, _________,” Matthias said as he pulled you in close while the two of you gazed at the   
rising sun over the edge of the ship.  
  
“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.


End file.
